MovieChat Forums > Away from Her (2007) Discussion > Ending.... go on, comment, it'll be fun

Ending.... go on, comment, it'll be fun

posted 15 years ago by bh64
28 replies | jump to latest

So what about the ending then? I was, and am, fairly in love with this movie, having seen it for the first time last night. I am nagged though, still trying to decide if I feel let down by the conclusion. I just expected something... more..... conclusive.
I think.
I felt the most emotionally demanding parts were near the start, in the subtle onset of the disease, and the first scene when she doesn't recognise him I found utterly heartbreaking... but at the end, while not quite nonplussed, I wasn't as moved as I had expected to be.
And I am also debating whether I was prerturbed by the coupling of the husband, with Aubrey's wife... I felt distanced by it or something, it diminished my empathy for the husband's character.. but then maybe that was the desired effect. i.e. He is not a saint.
Would like to hear other people's thoughts on the end,
I can't think of anything to put after that comma, but yes, I would like to hear people's thoughts on the end.

[–] lucad_99 13 years ago

You should read the short story. It will help you understand the ending of the movie I think. And will probably increase your empathy for Grant. His act is completely selfless.

[–] Groveful 13 years ago

"Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to see your partner enjoying their time with someone else, leaving you in the corner, quite literally like we see in this film"

I don't think they do.

[–] lamont-hard 13 years ago

You have to conclude your own ending as you saw it. I would say Grant and Miriam continued there relationship with each other as he became fond of her, and she of him It almost fits perfectly. They both loved there spouses deeply and therefor I would feel there would be no jealousy or pettiness on anyone,s part I would say even if they wanted sex with there spuses it should be with no issues. I felt Fiona only really felt for Aubrey because she was spending so much time with him. It was really not true love but good friendship and compassion.

[–] shirvs 12 years ago

I can't understand how people can accuse Grant of selfishness and say there's no empathy there (I'm not calling idiocy or anything, just personally I can't understand it).

The man isn't recognised by the woman he's loved since they were 18 and he's forced to watch her get close with another man. How can we as an audience expect the human reaction to that to be one of grace and understanding. He might have made some questionable decisions but how can we really blame him. I'd be damn selfish too, or at least misdirected and misguided, if that happened to me. We're starting to expect heroes and paragons, instead of people, in every movie we see.

[–] lamont-hard 12 years ago

Great point, I think people do not like to see a man with two women no matter what, Miriam is a big girl and she loved her husband as well. They seemed, She and grant sort of had a agreement, if I can call it that. They were each other release valve. they would as time go by become more intimate with each other as his wife slips in and out of who he was. Of all people she would be understanding as she knows she may always be second fiddle. Why do posters feel anyone is selfish he gets his wife back and when she is not recognizing him he has Mariam to help him and HERSELF with her husband through what they must endure for the rest of there lives, seems like a good deal to all.

[–] sezme 12 years ago

I don't have a lot to add to this discussion. I think Grant did the best he could in the circumstances and nothing he did takes away from his love for Fiona.

But what I really wanted to say is that the character played by Olympia Dukakis was called Marian, not Miriam. Everybody on this thread, please stop calling her Miriam. It's Marian! She even corrected Grant on this point as he left her house that first time he visited her. Are you all, shall I say, forgetful?

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jnorgle 10 years ago

Seemed like a somewhat sweet note.

I think the not-recognizing could have been better played. It almost seemed like she was trying to distance herself from Grant because she had fallen for another man hard. I've actually had friends that did that to their boyfriends, suddenly falling hard for someone else and treating the boyfriend like a 1-minute acquaintance.

I think Grant should be faithful so long as his wife can still talk and walk. She had not had the disease for long so she was still going to have good days even if it had been a while since one...Grant was looking for an excuse.

But I think also a lot of stuff is left up to audience interp.

The ending was unfortunate. He brought the dude all the way there and now he has to be outside. He should have called Aubrey's wife while with his and said she was having a good day. Although still selfish, but if his wife knows who he is, that's amazing and should take advantage of it.

I can't help but feel sympathy for Grant despite the times of philandering... (not sympathy for that)

http://i61.tinypic.com/2v3j8gp.jpg
http://i39.tinypic.com/2s8mluo.jpg

[–] JohannaMackay 8 years ago

This is way past your discussion, but I think that Grant provides Aubrey to his wife as the ultimate atonement for the wounds he inflicted upon Fiona earlier. I think he was motivated by guilt (that may be too strong a word) and regret, as much as by love. Obviously, quitting his career and leaving their previous life was a way of saving their marriage. But it apppears they had never been able to talk about it, his words had never been there to heal her.

Perhaps his wife was punishing him on some deep subconscious level, perhaps not. I love how the movie leaves so many things open. Was Aubrey an earlier crush that never found fulfillment? Was he just a convenient avenue for her need to care? Was Grant just a convenient avenue for her need to care for 44 years?

It sounds as if Grant had left her to work through the pain of his cheating. It's amazing how clearing the air might have healed, but it appears that the discussion was never allowed. Now it comes full circle, that he has to watch helplessly as she gives her time and affection elsewhere. And he cannot work it out with her, it must be on his own.

I think his way of working it out is to finally and selflessly give her what he believes she wants and needs to survive. There is no way that her lucidity in the last scene will last. It's an act of grace, as it were, for his atonement. But will she again attach to Aubrey? Will Aubrey be able to give her the purpose that he did before or will she not remember him?

It appears that Grant will now be linked with Marion and they will find some companionship, but still considering how convoluted relationships can be, Grant may have paid a high price attaching to Marion to provide Fiona her purpose. I wish we could know the rest of the story, which is the mark of a great movie!